Thinking 2 of our Buff Orpington gals are in fact guys

[afole4]

Hi! I My daughter and I have been raising 5 Buff Orpington we got when they were about 2 weeks old. They're now 3 months old. We're totally new to this, but I can say I wouldn't have had the confidence to venture into having some chickens if it weren't for this site!

We are feeling fairly certain that 2 of our little flock are cockerels. Until about a week ago they all looked pretty close, but now two have bright red, and noticeably bigger combs and wattles. I'm a little worried about what I am going to do with 2 roosters This is a backyard flock in the middle of a fairly dense residential area, so we can't really have a rooster let alone 2!

Thank you!!!

(I apologize if the pictures aren't the best for sexing - I tried to follow the posted guidelines but it was much harder than I thought it would be!)

 

[DobieLover]

They look like POL pullets. There are no beginning signs of sickle saddle feathers. Cockerels would have just started to show that by 3 months of age.

 

[DobieLover]

Thank you. That would be a huge relief! We had looked at the tail feathers a few weeks ago and thought all 5 looked like hens and looked similar (rounded feathers), but we are just so new to this!

I can’t actually say for certain how old they are - the person I got them from said they were 2 weeks old but they had quite a few of them. It hadn’t occurred to me that some might mature faster than others or possibly be a little older.

Don't look at the tail feathers. Look at the area just above the tail feathers. Those are where the saddle feathers grow. In the cockerels and roosters they become along and sickle shaped. Pullets and hens saddle feathers look like yours do, rounded.

 

[afole4]

Thank you. That would be a huge relief! We had looked at the tail feathers a few weeks ago and thought all 5 looked like hens and looked similar (rounded feathers), but we are just so new to this!

I can’t actually say for certain how old they are - the person I got them from said they were 2 weeks old but they had quite a few of them. It hadn’t occurred to me that some might mature faster than others or possibly be a little older.

 

[black_cat]

I'm saying pullets...I think that hackle and saddle feathers would have shown themselves by now. (Please correct me if I'm wrong about the timing of that)

 

[FermanaghFlock]

Those guys look very similar to our buff roosters, but ours were noticeably different by the time they were 8 weeks old, with the large red wattle forming, as well as being bigger in size. Ours are only 10 weeks old so I couldn't say what 12 weeks looks like, but I wouldn't be surprised if they were roosters. I've attached a couple pictures of two of our 10 week old buff roosters to see if a comparison helps you! I hope they end up being hens though for your sake!

 

[homeschoolin momma]

Im going to side with @DobieLover on this one. While i dont think they are necessarily POL pullets, they may be the more dominant females and early maturing girls. They look hen feathered to me as well. Combs and wattles would be much more pronounced like this:

This is one of my 12 wk cockerels. (Also orpington)

 

[FermanaghFlock]

Wow! Thank you, everyone! I’m honestly not quite sure what to make of this - there are good points made both ways. My heart wants to believe they’re pullets, my anxious gut says roosters!

If they are roosters, does anyone have advice on how to find them new homes??

If I were you I'd check on Facebook to see if there is a local poultry page or group. We are members of the one for the entirety of Northern Ireland and have noticed that in terms of roosters, Buff Orpingtons in particular get snapped right up once they are posted about. Their popularity should work in your favour.

 

[afole4]

Two days ago we had 2 eggs and yesterday we had 1 egg. Today I finally was able to catch one of the new layers in the act and it was one of our 2 suspected roos! I will post pics ASAP.

 

[afole4]

Here's some pics of the gang today... I noticed that the one that laid today has little white tufts on her back. Not sure if that means anything or is just coincidence?

Also - We've had 4 eggs in three days. Two on Monday afternoon, one yesterday morning, and one this morning (so far). Is that one hen or 2? or?

• 1.jpg shows the 2 we were wondering about. The one on the left has laid at least one egg (today)
• 2.jpg - another angle of the one that laid today (we've been calling her Bart)
• bartandscaredy.jpg - Today's layer on right. The one with the s[eckled tail feathers is the smallest and bottom of the pecking order in our backyard.
• flock.jpg - everyone. Today's layer is far right
• stillasuspect.jpg - not sure if this is a rooster or possible also laying now? It doesn't behave like the one I saw laying today (not as docile, doesn't squat)
• nest.jpg - pre-egg